HELLO THERE ... Veronica Campbell, 100-meter dash world champ

Tuesday

Aug 28, 2007 at 2:00 AM

Age: 25

Age: 25

What she does: Newly crowned world champion in the 100-meter dash, a title she won in a photo finish yesterday at the world championships in Osaka, Japan.

Too close to call: For at least five agonizing minutes after their race, Campbell and Lauryn Williams waited and wondered which of them was the champion. To make things worse, the big scoreboard at Nagai Stadium listed various and inaccurate results. Finally, after a study of the photo finish, the decision went to the Jamaican Campbell by a hair over the defending champion from America.

Airfoil and blur: Both were clocked in 11.01 seconds in the final event of Day 3 of the world track and field championships.

From the winner's circle: "I'm just overwhelmed right now," Campbell said. "It was so close that I wasn't really sure."

Hard lesson: "I think I shouldn't have leaned so early and maybe would have had a definite win," Williams said. "But coulda, woulda, shoulda doesn't matter. I put my heart out there and I'm not at all upset about what I did."

No sweat: Williams, a 5-foot-2 dynamo who once said "I may be small but I've got a big personality," was obviously relaxed before the race. A TV camera caught her lying on her back reading a book in the infield grass of the warm-up track. Asked later what she was reading, she said it was about leadership by "that Chrysler guy." The book was "Where Have All the Leaders Gone?" by former Chrysler head Lee Iacocca. What followed was her best performance since winning the 100 at the worlds in Helsinki in 2005.

What they're saying: "I think it's a huge mental victory for her," said her coach Amy Deem, who also is head coach of the U.S. women's team in Osaka. "I think it's been in there for a while, but I think she's been trying to make it happen instead of letting it happen."